Backbone
by dovefeathers
Summary: "It is very useful in the ensemble, but it has no distinct personality; the viola is a philosopher, sad, helpful, always ready to come to the aid of others, but reluctant to call attention to himself." (Albert Lavignac in Music and Musicians) In other words: if the Karasuno volleyball team was a student chamber orchestra, then Tsukishima would absolutely be a violist.


"Hey there! Are you two interested in joining the Karasuno Student Chamber Orchestra?"

The voice was warm and inviting, yet loud enough that Tsukishima could hear it even with his headphones on. Slowly, irritably, he slid them off his head and onto his neck, peering down at the table in front of him.

There wasn't much to see. There weren't any fancy decorations or photo boards or even flashy signs propped on the table, only two older looking boys and a boring stack of signup sheets. The boy who had spoken had hair remarkably grey for his age, and a mole by his left eye. This eye he closed in a wink. "Come on! It only takes five minutes to sign up. Do either of you play an instrument?" He slid two signup sheets across the table enticingly.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi both took a sheet, reading them over before answering. Before they had a chance to reply, though, the other boy at the table spoke up, his voice directed at Tsukishima. "Viola?"

Tsukishima glanced up at him. A plain looking boy, with dark brown hair and a business-like smile. A third year, and most likely the president of the board. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You look like you play the viola," the boy answered. "Ah, just an inane guess, though. Go on with your reading."

"Wait, how did you know?" Yamaguchi piped up. "We didn't even tell you if we played instruments."

"Dai-san can just tell," the grey-haired boy said with another winning smile. "Anyways, we both spotted your fiddler's neck right away, so it was just a matter of your personalities."

"What do you mean by that?" Tsukishima asked, self-consciously reaching up to his neck to touch the "battle scar" just under his chin, the one he'd earned from years of playing.

"Your headphones gave it away," the brown haired one, 'Dai-san', replied. "You were tuning out the world like any violist would during long rest periods. You, on the other hand"—here he gestured to Yamaguchi—"were a little harder to figure out. I've got a hunch, but I want you to tell me first. What instrument do _you_ play?"

Yamaguchi looked around, startled that the attention was on him for once. "Oh, me? Um, I play violin. I'm not very good at it, though." He bit his lip.

"Were you always put in the second violins? Last chair, even?"

"Daichi!" the grey-haired boy scolded.

But Yamaguchi didn't seem affronted. Instead, he smiled good-naturedly, like always, "I wasn't _that_ bad in middle school. But yeah, I was always in the second violin section. I'm hoping it'll be the same in high school as well. There's too much pressure and competition in the first violins, since they're always carrying the melodies and stuff."

Daichi perked up. "So that means you'll be joining? Since you said you were hoping it would be the same in high school…" His eyes were wide with hope.

"Yeah, I guess," Yamaguchi said. "Well, at least if Tsukki…"

"I'm joining." Tsukishima's voice was curt and quick, almost as if he wanted to be over and done with those two words as speedily as possible. The truth was, there had never been a question as to whether he would continue playing viola in high school. Even after graduation. But it wasn't as if he would be clear about his hidden love for the instrument. Not now, at least.

"All right!" the grey-haired boy cheered. "A violin _and_ a viola! Dai-san, we got lucky this year! Oh—forgive me for being so rude. I'm Sugawara Koushi, or Suga, and this is Sawamura Daichi. I play the clarinet and he plays the tuba. Thank you so much for joining the orchestra!"

"Now all we need is a French horn and a trumpet and a flute and a…" Daichi sighed, a hand on his chin. "As you can see, we're not a very big group."

"Oh? How many people sign up every year on average?" Yamaguchi asked as he began to fill out the sheet. Tsukishima did the same, listening quietly.

"Well, last year we didn't even _have_ any upper string players," Daichi mumbled, embarrassed. "You two might very well be the only ones in your sections this year."

Tsukishima stopped writing, while Yamaguchi gulped. "Does...does that mean I would have to switch to the first violin part?" the freckled boy asked fearfully.

Daichi gave a reassuring laugh. "Don't worry, I'm sure a few more people will join this year. Maybe even _rejoin_...but that's another story." He and Suga gave each other meaningful glances.

"We did have a violinist sign up earlier today, though. Remember?" Suga combed through the smaller stack of signup sheets, the ones that had actually been written on. "Ah, yes. Have any of you heard of a Kageyama Tobio?"

"The name sounds familiar," Yamaguchi said thoughtfully. "Almost as if I heard it on the radio or TV or something."

"That's very likely," Daichi answered. "Apparently he has been playing violin since toddler age and was even Oikawa Tooru's rival at Kitagawa Daiichi. I heard the two would fight over the concertmaster seat. He's been principal violinist since Oikawa graduated and went to Aobajousai."

"Impressive…" Yamaguchi breathed. "Well, I guess that means I'm safe!"

"I'm done." Tsukishima handed Suga his signup sheet and was about to put his headphones on again before the grey-haired clarinetist did a double-take and shoved the paper in Daichi's face.

"Look! _Eight_ years of experience!" Suga sputtered. He gazed at Tsukishima in awe. "Sorry, it's just...we haven't had a viola since our first year in the orchestra, especially one with that much experience. Did you take lessons? Why did you start so early?"

Tsukishima looked unfazed. "My brother played. He taught me when I was younger." And that was it.

Funnily enough, Yamaguchi was the one blushing. Handing his signup sheet to Daichi, he grinned at Tsukishima. "Tsukki's very, very good!" he chirped.

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

* * *

"What do you think?"

Suga glanced at Daichi, whose face had become quite serious after the duo had finally walked away. "Hmm? Well, the freckled fellow didn't seem like a very strong player. Not a lot of confidence in himself. A true second violin."

"That's what I was thinking," Daichi replied. "Mr. Glasses was more of a conundrum, to be honest. It's almost as if...If that Yamaguchi kid hadn't wanted to sign up, then he would have walked straight past the table."

Suga gazed at him thoughtfully, their faces orange and red from the setting sun. "You sure about that?"

Daichi huffed and began to pack up, scooping the unused signup sheets into a folder. "I don't know. I was just rambling, as usual. Maybe he'll surprise us. Although that hasn't happened for quite some time…"

They were suddenly interrupted by a desperate yell. " _WAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTT!"_

Orange. Bright orange. It popped up in front of them almost like an explosion of flame.

"I...I would like to join the...the…" The orange-haired newcomer was panting heavily, almost as if he'd sprinted a mile's distance. "I would like to join the Karasuno Student Chamber Orchestra!"

He nearly fell over after releasing such a monstrous shout, but Suga caught his shoulder. "And we would love to have you! Just, uh, please keep it down!"

"Looks like you got here just in time, kid," Daichi chuckled, handing the exhausted redhead a signup sheet. "What instrument do you play?" He could already tell, but he wanted to give the kid a chance to answer for himself.

The orange hair seemed to perk up, like it was electrified. The kid's brown eyes were wide, wide open, full of haunting determination. Very different from that Tsukishima kid's half-lidded, lazy stare. "I'm Hinata Shouyou, and I play the trumpet!"

* * *

"Tsukki, can I borrow your rosin? I think I forgot mine again at my house." Yamaguchi looked apologetic as the taller boy jerked his head towards his open viola case. "Thanks, Tsukki!"

After signing up, they had gone straight to Tsukishima's house, which was large enough that they wouldn't bother Tsukishima's mother with the noise of their practicing. Yamaguchi always left his violin there, since his own house was smaller than average and his grandmother was very sensitive to loud noise. He didn't need to aggravate her illness with his deplorable screeching.

"Are we starting with scales, then?" Yamaguchi asked as he rosined his bow. The question was left unanswered, as always. Instead, the rich, warm sound of Tsukishima's viola began to fill the room, lilting up and down in a quick C-scale.

Yamaguchi grinned. "Your intonation is as great as always!"

"Are you going to play or not?" Tsukishima grunted. "G-scale. Two octaves. Followed by an arpeggio."

"Sorry, Tsukki!" Yamaguchi yelped. He fumbled with his shoulder rest, frantically squeezing it onto his violin and then propping the tiny thing up underneath his chin. "Ready!"

The two boys played the G-scale in unison, sounding almost like one instrument except for Yamaguchi's slip-up with the F# note in the scale. He cringed, but they didn't stop playing. When they ended on low G, finishing up the arpeggio, Tsukishima turned towards him. "Watch your second finger." No scolding, just a quiet reminder.

They continued warming up for half an hour, major and minor and chromatic scales and arpeggios echoing up and down the upstairs hallway, one of them (Yamaguchi) occasionally pausing to shake out stiff fingers.

During a five-minute break, Yamaguchi decided to bring up the orchestra. "I'm excited. Are you?"

Tsukishima shrugged. "I'm a violist. And the only one, too, by the looks of it. Does that sound very exciting?"

"It's not like you've ever been in a viola section bigger than three people," Yamaguchi replied. "Maybe you being the only viola means you'll get more of a chance to shine!"

Tsukishima stared at his calloused fingertips, deep in thought.

 _Maybe_.

* * *

 **Terms:**

 _Fiddler's neck, i.e., the "violin/viola hickey" -_ A rash that forms under the chin of a longtime violinist/violist. I have one. My friends make fun of it.

 _Callouses -_ Longtime violin/viola/cello/string bass/guitar players have callouses on their fingertips from pressing on the strings of their instruments! This lowers the amount of pain they go through.

 _Arpeggio_ \- Look up "Scales and Arpeggios" from the Aristocats movie. I dare you.

 _Etc -_ Violas are considered the underdogs of the string orchestra. They typically do not play the main melodies of pieces and are usually assigned the lower, rhythmic notes. They are usually mistaken for violins, since the only difference between the two instruments is one string and size, somewhat.

 _More etc -_ Chamber orchestras usually divide the violin sections into first and second violins. I think it's to balance them out so not too many people are playing the melody at the same time, but I play viola so I wouldn't know, lol.

Please let me know if there are any more musical terms that need explanation!


End file.
